The Total Depravity of Man
Theological Primer
Total depravity is a Protestant theological doctrine, primarily associated with Calvinism, which asserts that because of the Fall of Man, every human being is born into a state of spiritual corruption that affects every part of their nature.
Core Principles
The doctrine is defined by its extent, not its degree.
- Pervasiveness, not Intensity: It does not mean humans are as evil as they could possibly be (utter depravity). Rather, it means sin has corrupted every human faculty, including the mind, will, emotions, and physical body.
- Total Inability: It teaches that fallen humans are spiritually "dead" and completely unable to choose to follow God or accept salvation through their own power.
- The Problem of "Good Works": While unregenerate people can perform acts of "civil" or "relational" goodness (such as kindness or community service), these acts are considered fundamentally flawed because they do not proceed from faith or a desire to glorify God.
Theological Significance
- TULIP Foundation: It is the "T" in the Calvinist acronym TULIP, serving as the logical starting point for doctrines like Unconditional Election and Irresistible Grace.
- Necessity of Grace: If man is totally unable to seek God, then salvation must be a 100% supernatural act of God's sovereign grace.
- Differing Views:
- Calvinism: Teaches that God must first "regenerate" (make alive) a sinner before they can have faith.
- Arminianism: Also accepts total depravity but believes God provides prevenient grace to all people, enabling them to choose or reject the gospel.
Total depravity is the logical "cornerstone" of TULIP; if humans are spiritually dead and unable to seek God, then every subsequent step of salvation must be a sovereign act of God.
Relation to Unconditional Election (U)
- The Necessity of Choice: Because total depravity asserts that humans are unable to initiate a response to God or even desire salvation on their own, God must be the one to initiate the relationship.
- The Basis of Choice: Since there is "no one righteous" and "none who seeks God," God’s choice to save certain individuals cannot be based on any foreseen merit, faith, or "goodness" in the person.
- The Logic: If everyone is equally depraved and unable to choose God, then the only reason some are saved and others are not is God’s unconditional election based solely on His sovereign will.
Relation to Irresistible Grace (I)
- Overcoming Inability: Total depravity describes a state where humans are "dead in sin" and naturally resistant to God. For an elected person to be saved, God must use a grace that is powerful enough to overcome this natural rebellion.
- Effectual Calling: Irresistible grace (often called "effectual calling") is the specific application of grace that regenerates the heart, making a person who was previously "dead" and unwilling, suddenly willing and able to believe.
- The Logic: If man is totally unable to come to God, grace must be "irresistible" or "efficacious" because a "resistible" offer of grace would always be rejected by a depraved will.
Summary of the Logical Chain
- Total Depravity: Man is spiritually dead and cannot choose God.
- Unconditional Election: God must choose whom He will save, as they cannot choose Him.
- Irresistible Grace: God must sovereignly and effectively "awaken" those He chose so they will actually believe.
Biblical examples of total depravity are found throughout Scripture, illustrating both the universal nature of sin and the specific corruption of human faculties like the mind, heart, and will.
Illustrative Biblical Figures
The lives of many biblical figures demonstrate the reality of total depravity:
- Adam and Eve: Their original choice to serve the enemy over God resulted in the loss of their initial purity, causing the entire human race to inherit a sinful nature.
- Lazarus: His physical death is often used as a theological parallel for the spiritual state of all people; just as a corpse cannot raise itself, a person "dead in sin" cannot seek God until called to life.
- The Pharisee and the Tax Collector: In this parable, the Pharisee represents those who believe they are righteous based on their own efforts, while the justified tax collector acknowledges he is fundamentally a sinner in need of mercy.
Key Scriptural Descriptions
Specific verses provide a "physician’s report" on the extent of human corruption:
- Universal Guilt: Romans 3:10–12 declares there is "none righteous, no, not one" and that "no one seeks for God".
- Heart Corruption: Jeremiah 17:9 describes the human heart as "deceitful above all things, and desperately sick".
- Spiritual Deadness: Ephesians 2:1–3 states that humans are naturally "dead in our trespasses and sins" and "children of wrath".
- Mental Inability: 1 Corinthians 2:14 notes that the "natural person" cannot understand spiritual things because they are "spiritually discerned".
- Continuous Evil: Genesis 6:5 describes the pre-flood world where "every intention of the thoughts of [man's] heart was only evil continually".
The Pervasiveness of Sin
The doctrine is further evidenced by descriptions of sin affecting every part of the person:
- The Mind: Alienated and hostile toward God.
- The Mouth and Throat: Full of "cursing and bitterness" and described as an "open grave".
- The Will: Enslaved to sin and unable to submit to God’s law.
- Even "Good Deeds": Isaiah 64:6 compares human righteous acts to "filthy rags" because they are not done for God's glory.
R.C. Sproul: Total Depravity
Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvUpyxnqAow
Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPVkhssUv5I
John Piper: The Nature of Our Depravity
